Anemia is one of the most frequent complications during pregnancy, since at this stage the woman needs a higher dose of iron than she normally requires. It is essential that the pregnant woman has iron reserves in her body to guarantee the necessary oxygen supply for the baby. What can we do to prevent anemia during pregnancy?
Iron is necessary for the production of hemoglobin in the red cells of the maternal and fetal blood, a protein responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body's cells. The baby's development depends largely on the mother's blood supply, so untreated anemia could cause complications such as poor fetal growth or premature birth.
Before having to resort to an iron supplement, which as we saw may carry risks of premature birth and low weight, we must try a healthy and varied diet, rich in foods high in iron, such as fish and shellfish, vegetables green leaf, red meat, legumes, eggs ...
Thus we will help our body to reach the recommended iron dose in pregnancy is 30 mg daily, which is more than 30% of the usual dose. And it is also essential that the diet as a whole helps to correctly assimilate this mineral.
The intake of meat or fish once a day, as well as vitamin C, are allies in this regard. Taking a citrus a day (orange, kiwi ...) will help avoid possible anemia. It is also convenient to divide the dairy between several meals a day because if they are concentrated in one, their high calcium content (also essential during pregnancy) would prevent proper assimilation of iron. In addition, we must limit the intake of tea and coffee, which would also hinder the absorption of iron.
Through these tips we can have our iron levels at their optimum and keep anemia at bay, helping to spend a healthy pregnancy.
